Mark Requa was responsible for developing the huge
copper mining operations in White Pine County and for building the now
famous Nevada Northern Railway. Learn more about it at the White Pine
Public Museum.

The Nevada Northern Railway Depot in Cherry Creek, NV
was moved to the White Pine Public Museum in Ely in the fall of 1990.
Local elementary school students raised $11,000 to fund the move. The
building, now 99 years old, is a step back in time.

White Pine County ~ Its Beginnings

The first people in White
Pine County were the Shoshone Indians. In 1860, the Pony Express
Telegraph and the Overland Stage brought explorers and prospectors into
the county. Between 1860 – 1900, gold silver and lead discoveries were
quickly followed by dozens of boomtowns, each with their brief time in
the sun.

The rush to White Pine
County in 1867 was the biggest and brightest of them all. By 1869,
30,000 souls had made the trek to the slopes of Mt. Hamilton, and the
county was officially formed. However, the ore played out just as
quickly. By 1875, mining had all but ceased.

In 1887, the State
Legislature designated Ely as the new County Seat after a disastrous
fire destroyed much of Hamilton. Ely had been a quiet state stop and
post office before then but the new growth developments spurred growth
along the banks of Murry Creek. A Wells Fargo office, newspaper, some
saloons and a few modest homes and other businesses soon joined the new
County Seat.

The year of 1906 marked the
arrival of the Nevada Northern Railway. This made possible the
development of the copper industry and was instrumental in the economic
growth of Ely, McGill, Ruth, and the many other towns of the copper
period.

Today, mining, the Ely State Prison, Federal offices and
Tourism form the basis of Eastern Nevada’s economics.

The History of the
White Pine County Public Museum

Spearheaded by the Ely Business and Professional Women’s
Club, 109 citizens joined together to develop a museum in White Pine
County on August 1, 1959.

The museum
opened with exhibits loaned & donated by the generosity of the citizens
of White Pine County.

It’s
incorporation as the White Pine County Public Museum was on June, 1960.
The museum received a grant (Max D. Fleischman) in August of 1961.

The museum
is supported by the Tour & Recreation Board, donations, memberships,
admissions, and donations by visitors.

Our Research Collection

Early record books of
White Pine County and businesses are kept at the museum. They are used
to help historians in their research about the area and its people.

Our Mineral
Collection

Our Gift Shop

Don’t forget to visit our Gift Shop. We have Nevada
and other history books, USGS Topographical maps, post cards, candy,
jewelry, and more.

Our Historic Murals

Ely is
fast becoming known as the “City of Murals”. Thanks to the efforts of
the Ely Renaissance Society, the museum received the first mural in Ely,
painted in the year 2000. The mural was painted by Colin Williams,
titled the “4th of July” and cost approximately $20,000. It
is located on the outside of the main museum building.

We Welcome Tourist Groups

Click on
any photo to enlarge...The bones of two giant short-faced bears (Arctodus
simus) were discovered in a White Pine County cave in 1982.

This model of the 12,000-year-old
“Cave Bears” is exhibited at the White Pine Public Museum.

Historic “4th of July” mural on the side of the
museum.

The original one-room school house from Baker, Nevada

A jail cell from the old Ely City Jail.

A historic bell from Hamiliton, Nevada (now a ghost
town).

STEP
BACK INTO TIME AND EXPERIENCE THE 40’S ERA WHEN YOU VISIT OUR
SATELLITE MUSEUM IN MCGILL, NV.

The old McGill Rexall Drug Store and 1930’s soda
fountain along with the entire inventory was presented intact to the
Museum by the heirs of Gerald and Elsa Culbert who owned and
operated the museum between 1945 and the mid 1980’s.

If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.